Spellhold Studios has an IRC chatroom by the name #spellhold at irc.gamesurge.net. Any or all of our visitors are welcome to stop by anytime!

IRC guide

What is IRC ?IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. IRC was started many years ago, shortly after the Internet was formed. Now that you know what the acronym stands for, you can figure out what IRC is all about: chatting! Originally, IRC served as a medium for students and teachers at universities to communicate with each other. Since that time, IRC has had many make-overs. Hundreds of networks have opened, each network offering different features, but all the networks have one common goal: to build a friendly community for users to chat.

Getting Started
The first thing you will need is an IRC client to connect to the IRC server. The most popular of these is mIRC. Mozilla Firefox has its very own Chatzilla and Opera also has a built-in feature for IRC.

Once you have installed your IRC client, you will want to connect to #spellhold, the Spellhold Studios chat room.

Enter the Chatroom
Or, you can enter from within your chat client, using commands. All commands in IRC use / as the trigger.
To enter the server, type "/server irc.gamesurge.net".
To join the channel, type "/join #spellhold".

Once you join #spellhold, anything you type in that window will appear in the channel. And in turn, people will see what you type and respond in that same window. Say hello. :)
If you see a @ next to someone's nickname then that means he or she is a channel operator. Channel operators have extra responsibilities that include kicking and/or banning abusive users, locking the channel so no one can talk, changing the channel topic, and much more. If you want any help on IRC , contact a channel op.

Some Useful Commands/nick
Example: "/nick Inmate"
The Nick command will change your screen name to what you want. This command will change your name to "Inmate". Keep in mind that Nick does not allow spaces, and if it appears to not have worked it is possible that the nick you chose is already in use - try another.

/me
Example: "/me cackles insanely"
Actions are a big part of what make IRC fun, so try them out! This will appear as "Inmate cackles insanely". Actions work best when you use a verb after the /me command, but it is not necessary to use a verb, it just flows better if you do. :)

/leave
Example: "/leave #spellhold"
This will leave the specified channel, or if you don't specify one, the channel in which you type the command. Optionally, you may suffix the command with a 'quit message'. For example, "/leave #spellhold I am leaving", this would display for others remaining in the channel as "Inmate has left #spellhold (I am leaving)".

/ignore
Example: "/ignore tomas"
In the event that someone is hassling you on IRC then you do not have to get mad, but rather just ignore them.

/quit
Example: "/quit Goodnight! :)"
This will leave all the channels you are in, along with closing your connection to the IRC server. Again, a leaving message is optional, and will display to others in all the channels which you were in.

/msg
Example: /msg SConrad Hi, SConrad!
Only SConrad will receive the message "Hi, SConrad!". You can have private chats this way.

A more comprehensive and thorough guide to IRC can be found at IRCHelp.org.